Oh, Sandy

As you may have seen (or may be experiencing yourself!) Hurricane Sandy has been causing problems everywhere she goes.  Many of you have been praying for us, and have asked how we’re doing, so we wanted to give you an update.

On Thursday morning, power to the entire nation was lost.  It was hard to fathom that not just some areas, but all areas were without electricity!  In El Callejon the power came back in the afternoon.

Sandy hit hardest down south, including the capital of Santo Domingo.  Streets flooded, bridges washed out, communities were cut off.  We have been fortunate here in Jarabacoa, where the rains have been heavy, but the overall damage has been light. 

According to dominicantoday.com as many as 625,000 people have been displaced by the storm.  This would significant no matter the population, but when you consider that the population of the DR is only around 10 million, well, it is huge. 

El Callejon began after such a storm wiped out people’s homes.  The new president has declared a state of emergency, and we pray that unlike 15 years ago, there is more help available. 

We didn’t have great attendance for our Thursday activities, which is understandable.  Our Young Moms don’t want to take their babies and toddlers out in the weather, and several of our Pre-teens live a 15-minute walk away. 

The roads in and around El Callejon were filled with red mud.  The feet and legs of the little ones who stopped by the site were caked with the stuff.  In most parts of the US, a parent could throw all the wet, dirty clothes into the washer and get a nice, hot shower going. 

Here, that’s not possible.  Even for those with washing machines, there are no dryers, and so the clothes hang inside from every surface.  They won’t completely dry until the sun returns. 

The schools were closed on Thursday and Friday, so the kids in El Callejon were a bit stir-crazy.  They don’t mind getting wet (or dirty!), but even for them, the rain was too much. 

On Friday we let as many of them as wanted to come sit in the site and watch VeggieTales: Jonah (in Spanish).  We were all slightly damp and dirty, but sitting with 10+ kids, enjoying the silliness of Bob el Tomate y Larry el Pepino was so much fun!  Thankfully, the power stayed on, so we could watch all the way through to the end.  

The storm has passed us by, but many Dominicans are still worried.  New York City is considered the second largest Dominican city in the world because of the number of Dominicans who live there.  So, plenty of families down here are concerned about relatives up there. 

Please continue to pray for all those impacted by the storm.